Two sold-out concerts in Russia for US rapper Kanye West, who now goes by the name Ye, have been cancelled. Organisers confirmed the decision after weeks of uncertainty surrounding the shows.
Ye was scheduled to perform at the Gazprom Arena in St Petersburg on 10 and 11 October. Say Agency, the Moscow-based organiser, announced on Thursday via the messaging app Telegram that the concerts would not proceed.
The agency stated that an official statement regarding the project's status and future plans would be released soon. Details for ticket refunds are expected to be available from Monday 12 October.
Confusion over the shows' status had been ongoing, with the Gazprom Arena initially promoting the concerts before later stating it had not signed a lease agreement with promoters. Russia's foreign ministry spokesperson, Maria Zakharova, had previously called the planned shows unacceptable due to Ye's "glorification" of Hitler.